Recap: Girls Season 2, Episode 3 [A Bro’s Thoughts]

Theo Jones

Rehashing an idea that works in television is good sometimes. I mean look at all the CSI, NCIS and just general procedural shows on the tube today. But you can’t do that with a narrative like Girls and I think Lena Dunham really missed the boat here when she wrote this episode.

There was a lot of hype behind last season’s Shoshanna “crack-ccident’ episode, so I guess the powers-that-be wanted a re-hash of that and decided to make a coke episode of Girls. Sadly, since it was Hannah and not Shoshanna high for the entire episode, the potential greatness was squandered and we got a really awkward sex scene with one of the dudes from The Lonely Island. After last week this was really a letdown.

In Which Hannah Starts Fucking A Sober Junkie For An Article

Is it just me or does it surprise anyone else that Hannah hasn’t like, found a real writing job yet? I keep seeing all of these postings on Vice and Thought Catalog and even on this very website and yet you come up with a faux hipster blog called ‘JAZZHATE’ in order to justify a coke-binge article? Come on. That was pretty weak.

The character of Laird, however, is where this hipster blog comes into play. Here’s a former junkie, getting Hannah drugs (most notably heroin, which you know Elijah is totally going to get addicted to), has a crush on her, and is pretty much going to be her supplier until she gets tired of him or Adam walks back into her life. What intrigues me about the character is how the relationship plays out: Will Hannah write about him? Will she develop actual feelings for him? Will she cause him to relapse? Will she even care if he relapses? Bringing a junkie onto Girls has a lot of potential but frankly, it could be squandered just as easily as the idea of a drug-binge episode was, so I’m not getting my hopes up.

In Which Marnie Gets Mounted By One Of The Dudes From THE LONELY ISLAND

Please, character or not, how am I supposed to take one of the guys that made “I’m On A Boat” as some sort of stud? Like I give swag points when swag points are due in terms of bro code and conquests to anyone, but this is just too much. I just can’t take his character seriously. I mean his name is Booth Jonathan on the show. Who names their kid Booth? Redneck junkies? And his name is JORMA in real life. JORMA. I’m supposed to believe that some dude named Jorma is allowed to cattle mount Allison Williams? Even for the sake of comedy, the sex scenes in Girls are just getting super awkward and I don’t like it.

Hurricane Marnie update: Did Marnie just get fired so she could get pounded in a room that looked like the well Buffalo Bill used to keep his victims in Slience Of The Lambs? Or is that just me? I still think she’s in a Tropical Storm level, but Hannah’s breakdown of her whole emotional being as a friend might send her into some isolated tornadoes or something. We’ll have to wait and see.

In Which The Two Best Characters On The Show Are Being Wasted

For the short, brief times we get Shoshanna and Jessa, there are strokes of genius that cannot be denied. Jessa’s blasé attitude towards a vender’s permit: awesome. Shoshanna’s Ally McBeal reference about the dude who took her v-card: brilliant. Both characters having potential plot lines that are more interesting than Hannah & Marnie’s random day-to-day over-dramatized activities but we’re only getting to see them for less than 5 minutes an episode: SUPER LAME. Last episode gave each girl a little bit of development, a little bit of plot and made the audience wanting more. It’s sad we’re practically a third through the season and these two are sitting on the sidelines.

Overall, after the potential of last week’s episode, we got some coke, weird sex, and a whole lot of Lena Dunham’s boobs in yellow mesh. I guess that’s all standard fare in Girls for what was a substandard episode. Next week looks a little bit like their version of My Dinner With Andre, but instead it’s a fondue party at Hannah’s, which should be fun. Check out the preview for next week below. Also, let me know what you guys thought of the episode on Twitter or in the comments! Did you think it was as lame as I did?